Jun. 18, 2013
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by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

The White House says President Obama is close to completing a series of executive actions to address gun violence, but they are not a substitute for congressional legislation.

In a report issued Tuesday, the administration has "completed or made significant progress" on 21 of 23 executive actions that Obama outlined Jan. 16 as part of a major gun-control initiative.

"But Congress must also act," the report says. "Passing common-sense gun safety legislation, including expanding background checks and making gun trafficking a federal crime, remains the single most important step we could take to reduce gun violence."

With Obama in Northern Ireland for the G-8 summit, Vice President Biden will discuss the report in a speech Tuesday afternoon.

The Senate blocked a background check bill in April, thanks mostly to the votes of Republicans. Obama administration officials and Senate Democrats are trying to revive the bill by pressuring senators who voted against it to reconsider.

Gun-control opponents say the proposals are ineffective, and undermine the Second Amendment rights to gun ownership.

The Obama administration began pushing for new gun legislation after the Dec. 14 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 students and six educators.

The new White House report listed the executive actions on guns taken by the administration.

Among them: Ending a freeze on federal research into the causes of gun violence, reducing barriers that prevent states from submitting certain records to the existing background check system, and easing the ways in which federal law enforcement agencies can trace guns recovered in investigations.

The report did not mention two other legislative proposals backed by gun-control supporters: A new ban on assault weapons, and restrictions on the size of ammunition magazines. Neither proposal has sufficient support in Congress as of yet.

The White House report says the president's executive actions are designed to address several goals, including improvements to the existing background check system, law enforcement, and school safety, as well as promote responsible gun ownership.